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High blood pressure, a condition which has affected a maximum of the population all around the world, and still there is a rise in its census. It shows no age limit and occurs in every age group without any warning! Every other person nowadays is developing the condition of high blood pressure. Blood pressure or let’s go for some fancy medical term i.e hypertension occurs when the force of its flow decreases from normal and thus there is an increase in pressure.

Have you ever thought why does our blood decrease its speed of flow sometimes, what is it that triggers its flow pattern? You will find your answer here. If you or any of your loved ones are going through this condition then one should keep in mind to make yourself stable and not take stress or worry about it, as worrying may only worsen the situation.

Before going into the causes of hypertension let me clear to you that blood pressure is of two types i.e primary hypertension (or essential type) and secondary hypertension. These categories are based on their causes.

Secondary hypertension

Secondary hypertension which occurs in less than 10% of the population is actually an underlying cause of other health problem. For instance, if a person is suffering from kidney disease or thyroid or heart issues, then that person is likely to develop secondary hypertension. Few drugs may also participate in causing hypertension such as few of over the counter painkillers or NSAIDs. Antidepressants may also cause a rise in blood pressure. Others may be estrogens, corticosteroids etc.

Primary hypertension

Now let’s discuss primary hypertension which I mentioned above also known as the essential type. It happens in 90% of individuals but the exact underlying cause is still unknown to medical professionals. But few of the following factors may be responsible for increasing blood pressure:

Age:

As people become older, their blood pressure usually rises because their arteries become less elastic and the blood flows more slowly. And hence, we have seen most of our elders suffering from high blood pressure.

Heredity:

People whose parents have hypertension are more likely to develop the ailment than those whose parents have normal blood pressure.

Obesity (fatness):

Fat people are more prone to rise in blood pressure due to high cholesterol levels. Too much cholesterol in your blood causes furring or narrowing of blood vessels through which blood flows and hence the blood pressure increases as the passage for its flow decreases in diameter and hence blood flow slowly and there is a rise in pressure.

Stress:

A number of hormones are secreted during stressful conditions. These hormones temporarily increase your blood pressure by causing your heart to beat faster and your blood vessels to narrow and hence cause hypertension.

Smoking:

Nicotine (you must have been aware of this word) is a harmful substance. Besides affecting your lungs it also affects the blood pressure and heart rate. It contributes to narrowing of the blood pathway and also hardens the blood to form a clot which may lead to heart attack. No smoking sign boards are no joke!

Salt:

Too much salt consumption may raise the amount of sodium in your bloodstream and just mess-up with the balance, reducing the ability of your kidneys to remove water. And so there is an increase in blood pressure due to extra fluid and extra workload on the delicate blood vessels of kidneys.

Sleep:

Lack of sleep may disturb your body’s ability to regulate stress hormones leading to high blood pressure. Sleeping 7-8 hours should be a priority.

Alcohol:

Drinking high amount of alcohol may affect the normal functioning of the body and may also contribute to causing hypertension.

Exercise:

Exercise causes an increase in heart pumping which may temporarily increase blood pressure.

Anxiety:

Anxiety does not cause long-term hypertension but episodes of anxiety can cause a dramatic or temporary spike in your blood pressure. If it occurs frequently it may have a negative impact on your blood vessels.

But sometimes hypertension may be temporary due to fear. For instance, when a person is at home his blood pressure may be normal but as he visits the hospital, he may show a rise in blood pressure due to fear of doctor or nurse. Some people are scared of injections too so even they may show a rise in blood pressure. Strong emotions such as anger may also cause a temporary rise in blood pressure. These conditions are not fatal and fade away with time.

How drugs work once you engulf them?

Drugs are the most valuable tool to treat or prevent diseases. Restrict yourself from the thought that tobacco, cocaine etc are a valuable tool, because illegal traders and users named these particularly as drugs. The use of drugs has helped millions of people live longer, healthier lives than would otherwise have been possible.

But ever wondered how do these drugs act after going inside our body? or why is it that there are different forms and designs of drugs used?? Well, then here we will walk you through to get you an answer.

Types of Drugs

Different drugs are administered to the body in different ways. You must have seen doctors prescribing syrups for children whereas tablets for adults. This is done on the basis of convenience and also according to the formulation(ingredients) of the drug.

Some drugs act very well orally but some causes problems and hence administered in different ways like ointments, creams, inhalants etc.

Reaction from Drug inside our body

What happens inside the body after taking that single tablet or after applying that single drop of ointment over acne or that cream for complexion, its all the game of receptors which are like the gateway into cells.

Initially, the way these drugs reach inside the body depends on the type of dosage form (tablet, capsule, nasal spray etc). As said above these actions are mediated through receptors. Confusing???

Okay! For instance, if you want to withdraw cash from a bank what would you do? Firstly, get ready- make yourself look perfect with some makeover and then get into your car and travel through road to the bank.Follow the procedure for withdrawal of cash through cheque or ATM.

Same thing happens with the drug. Drug (you) prepares to get into the bloodstream (road) and travels to the target tissue or organ(bank). Where it shows its action (withdrawal of cash).

Practical example

Now, when we hope your concept is clear, let us explain you this process with an example. So, Suppose its winter, which is a door to cold, flu, fever. Paracetamol is the basic n most common drug used for these conditions.

When this drug is taken orally with water it passes through the gut (digestive tract) to the bloodstream and finally to the target organ. To show its effects on the target organ or tissue, the drug has to attach to receptors which will control and allow it to produce some chemical changes within the cells and show its action i.e decrease in fever. Its like when you want to get married (action) to a girl (cell) you need to take permission from her dad (receptor).

Well as all the organs, tissues, cells are connected to nerve endings, the information is passed to the brain and hence the brain sends the signals of chemical changes and thus the functions are maintained.

Every drug given for different diseases acts differently in its own way. They are unique as we are! But the basic receptor theory explained above is mostly taken into consideration. This was just about the action of a drug.

Releasing pattern of drugs

The releasing patterns of drugs differ from each other like oral drug release by dissolution or breaking into smaller molecules to transfer to the bloodstream. Ointments pass through skin, nasal sprays and inhalants through nasal passage into lungs or target etc. However, this can go Huge. So, in the future keep, yourself prepared to impress receptor to get treated on time.